He married Helen Robson on Valentine’s Day in 1942, and together they had four children: Rob, John, Jim, and Alice.

By the time Sam died in 1992, he had set up the company ownership in a way that minimized the estate taxes anyone on the receiving end of his will had to pay.

He set up his ownership of Walmart’s stock in a family partnership — each of his children held 20% of Walton Enterprises, while he and Helen each held 10%. Helen inherited Sam’s 10% tax-free when he died.

He was married to Christy Walton and had one son, Lukas.

John left about 17% of his wealth to his wife, and he gave the rest to charity and to his son.

John served in Vietnam as a Green Beret. When he returned from the war he held a series of jobs — like the Walmart company pilot, a crop duster, and the owner a few yachting companies — before becoming a Walmart board member.

Rob spearheaded the foundation’s venture into environmental outreach. One of the first grants they gave was one that helped develop a sustainable fisheries label.

A commitment to the family’s home in Arkansas is another large part of the foundation. Whether it’s creating a system of mountain-bike trails through the Ozarks or developing the grounds around Crystal Bridges, the Waltons are celebrating the community that helped their family get to where they are.

Walmart Inc., which owns Walmart and Sam’s Club, is the largest retailer in the US in terms of revenue, with sales of $US500.34 billion per year.

When Walmart has a good quarter, the Waltons make hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends.

The company reported in November that same-store sales were up 3.4% in the third quarter.

Source: Walmart

Even though the Walton family is raking in billions as a result of the company’s success, they remain relatively under-the-radar in terms of flashing their wealth — much like their patriarch, Sam, did in the early years.